Safari packing lists tend to be long and slightly theatrical. In practice, a week's safari needs very little, and light aircraft transfers cap your luggage anyway — usually around 15 kg in a soft bag.

Clothing

  • Neutral colours — khaki, olive, stone. Avoid bright white, which shows dust, and dark blue and black, which attract tsetse flies in some woodland areas.
  • Two or three lightweight long-sleeved shirts. Sun and insect cover, and cooler than you expect.
  • Long trousers for evenings and early mornings; shorts for the middle of the day.
  • One genuinely warm layer. This is the item people leave behind and regret: the Ngorongoro rim sits above 2,200 m, and open-vehicle drives before dawn are cold anywhere.
  • A wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
  • Closed shoes for walking; sandals for camp.

Everything else

  • High-factor sunscreen and lip balm. The altitude and dust are harder on skin than the heat.
  • Insect repellent with DEET or picaridin.
  • Binoculars — one pair each, not one to share. This changes your trip more than any other single item.
  • A dust-proof bag or cover for camera gear.
  • Power bank. Some camps run generators for limited hours.
  • Any prescription medication in its original packaging, plus a simple first-aid kit.

What not to bother with

Full safari outfits with epaulettes. Heavy boots, unless you are climbing. More than one pair of long trousers. Most camps do same-day laundry, which is why a week's clothing is genuinely enough.

Luggage itself

If any part of your trip uses a light aircraft transfer, you are capped at around 15 kg in a soft bag — no wheels, no frame, nothing rigid. A hard suitcase is genuinely a problem on those flights, and there is no polite way around it at the airstrip.

On a road-only safari the limit is more forgiving, but vehicle space is still finite and shared. One soft bag each, plus a small daypack for the vehicle, is the format that works.

A note on plastic bags

Single-use plastic bags are banned in Kenya and Tanzania, and the ban is enforced at the airport rather than ignored. Use packing cubes or dry bags instead, and check your hand luggage before you fly — duty-free bags count.

Laundry

Most camps and lodges do same-day laundry, and many include it. That is why a week's clothing is genuinely enough for a fortnight's safari, and it is worth confirming when you arrive rather than packing for the whole trip.

One caveat: at many camps, cultural convention means underwear is not included in the laundry service and is left for you to wash yourself. Soap is provided. It catches people out.